The Palestine Chronology

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike targeting a car in n. Gaza carrying 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. allegedly coming fr. a rocket-launching site, hitting the car after the men escape; sends troops into Bayt Hanun and makes 2 air strikes on agricultural lands in the area, causing no reported injuries, withdrawing troops in the afternoon; makes a helicopter air strike on a Hamas training base nr. Dayr al-Balah, missing the target, hitting an open area, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Hebron and Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah, Tulkarm. Meanwhile, in Rafah, the ESF attempts to arrest an Islamic Jihad mbr. violating the acting Hamas government’s ban on carrying weapons in public, sparking an exchange of fire that causes no injuries; the Islamic Jihad mbr. escapes. (NYT 9/4; OCHA 9/5; PCHR 9/6)

After a week of increased Lebanese army shelling of Nahr al-Barid and reinforcing of positions surrounding the camp, the remaining FI mbrs. holed up in the r.c. make a last-ditch, predawn effort to flee, clashing with soldiers who kill more than 50 FI mbrs., capture 32, and take control of the camp; 5 Lebanese soldiers are also killed, bringing the toll since the crisis began on 5/20/07 to at least 163 soldiers, 222 FI mbrs., 42 civilians. The army says it must conduct demining operations in the camp before refugees may return; Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora vows to repair all damage. (NYT, WP, WT 9/3; WT 9/4, 9/16)

For unclear reasons, IDF troops at the Erez crossing fire on ESF troops manning the Palestinian side, killing 1 ESF officer, wounding a baggage porter. An IDF helicopter fires a missile at a suspected rocket launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF bars an ailing 75-yr.-old Palestinian woman living in a village btwn. the Green Line and the separation wall fr. crossing a checkpoint at the wall to reach a Jenin hospital, allowing her to die; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm. In ongoing settler violence in Hebron (see 8/5), Jewish settlers attack and vandalize Palestinian property in the central market area, set fire to the al-Kayal Mosque, burn a business and 2 Palestinian homes; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Later in the day, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack, vandalize several Palestinian homes in Hebron. A Jewish settler security guard is injured when his car hits a roadside bomb on the settlers-only road to Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus. (OCHA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

In retaliation for the deaths in Jenin late on 6/19, the AMB, Islamic Jihad fire at least 6 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel during the day, lightly injuring 1 Israeli; the IDF responds with helicopter air strikes on 2 launching sites nr. Bayt Hanun, 1 nr. Erez crossing, causing no reported injuries. Islamic Jihad mbrs. also fire 4 RPGs at IDF soldiers nr. Dayr al-Balah and detonate a roadside bomb, causing no injuries. The IDF makes a major raid on al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis, killing 5 Palestinians (at least 4 of them armed, including at least 2 Hamas mbrs.); 1 IDF soldier is injured. After the UN and Israeli human rights groups warn of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza within a mo. if borders are not opened to trade, Israel allows shipments of wheat flour into Gaza through Kerem Shalom; also temporarily opens the Erez crossing to allow some 200 foreign nationals, a handful of special medical cases to leave Gaza. Meanwhile, Egypt withdraws its security delegation fr. Gaza, orders its amb. to move residence fr. Gaza to Ramallah in what is seen as a political move backing Abbas and breaking ties with Hamas. ESF mbrs. kidnap, fatally shoot a Fatah mbr. in Gaza City. Unidentified gunmen fire on an ESF patrol nr. Nussayrat r.c., causing no injuries. AMB mbrs. stage a march in Hebron in support of Abbas. (NYT 6/20; Interfax, MNA, OCS, XIN 6/20 in WNC 6/21; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 6/21; OCHA 6/27; PCHR 6/28)

The IDF fires on Palestinians who stray nr. the central Gaza border fence while collecting scrap metal, wounding 2. Palestinians fire 7 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel; 3 land inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, IDF undercover units raid a Nablus shop, wounding and capturing a wanted man, fatally shooting 1 Palestinian bystander (the shop owner’s son), wounding a 2d. The IDF also clashes with armed Palestinians in Jenin town and r.c., leaving 1 Palestinian gunman dead; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm; patrols in al-Naqura nr. Nablus (spot checking IDs of schoolchildren), Qarawat Bani Zaid nr. Salfit. In Dayr al-Balah, 2 PA General Intelligence officers are wounded in an exchange of fire with mbrs. of their own force; no motive is given. Unidentified gunmen fire on a PA police officer driving in Bayt Lahiya, missing him. (NYT 6/4; OCHA 6/6; PCHR 6/7)

The Lebanese army escalates its assault on Nahr al-Barid r.c., making helicopter air strikes on FItargets in addition to continuing tank shelling, reportedly to block an escape route fr. the camp to the sea and to destroy the upper floors of buildings used as sniper posts. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) officials in the r.c. report that residents still in the camp have been locking houses and barricading neighborhoods to try to isolate and force out FI mbrs. The Lebanese army confirms that the camp has been segmented into 3 parts: the first controlled by army fire from outside, the second controlled by refugees denying the militants sanctuary, and the third controlled by FI. The army reports 4 soldiers killed, 10 wounded during the day; casualties inside the camp are unknown. Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora pledges that Palestinians who have fled Nahr al-Barid will be allowed to return to the camp and that the camp will be rebuilt. (WT 6/3)

The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Rafah, forcing them to return to shore. The IDF makes a helicopter rocket strike on a suspected rocket-launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. Olmert’s security cabinet discusses military options for dealing with continued rocket fire fr. Gaza; no decisions are reached; talks are expected to continue over the next several days. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Jenin, and in Balata r.c., Nablus. Israel’s Jerusalem authorities issue an eviction order to the Palestinian al-Ansari Library in Jerusalem (one of the largest collections in Jerusalem with 45,000 books), slating the building for demolition to make way for a train station. A Jewish settler guard at Burkan settlement nr. Salfit shoots, wounds a Palestinian driver who routinely transports Palestinian workers to and fr. the settlement; no reason is given. Heavy Fatah-Hamas fighting in Gaza escalates, leaving 5 Palestinians dead (including AMB cmdr. Bahaa Abu Jarad and his bodyguard), around 20 wounded. Egyptian mediators broker a truce late in the day, but fighting continues. (Ma’an News Agency 5/13; NYT 5/14; OCHA 5/16; PCHR 5/17)

On the day Israel marks independence day and Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades fires 6 rockets and 8 mortars into Israel, causing no injuries, reiterating that it will no longer abide by the 11/26/06 cease-fire; the IDF responds with helicopter air strikes on n. Gaza and fires on an open area e. of Rafah; no damage or injuries are reported on either side. (Also in Gaza, a Palestinian is injured in Jabaliya r.c. while trying to dismantle an unexploded IDF shell.) Meanwhile, moderates in Hamas’s political wing say they are working to preserve the cease-fire. In the West Bank, the IDF occupies a Palestinian home in Saffa nr. Ramallah as an observation post; patrols, fires on residential areas of Nablus; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. Nr. Jenin, 2 Palestinian children (ages 4, 7) are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. Thousands of Jewish settlers march to the evacuated Homesh settlement site to protest the 2005 disengagement despite the IDF’s declaration of the area as a closed military zone; 2 IDF soldiers are injured trying to keep settlers from the site. Jewish settlers escorted by IDF troops bar Palestinians fr. using a road s. of Jenin for several hrs. (BBC, MM 4/24; IFM, MM, NYT, OCHA, WP 4/25; PCHR 4/26)

The IDF makes its largest daylight arrest raid in the West Bank in more than 2 yrs., sending troops, armored vehicles, bulldozers into Ramallah, with helicopter support, arresting 4 and sparking an exchange of gunfire that leaves 4 Palestinians dead (including at least 3 bystanders), more than 20 wounded (including a journalist); the main target, local AMB leader Rabi‘a Hamad, is wounded but escapes. In reaction Abbas issues a statement saying that the raid proves that “Israeli calls for peace and security are fake.” Haniyeh again cuts short his regional tour to return to Gaza to deal with factional violence. In accordance with new security arrangements agreed by Abbas, Israel, the U.S., and European Union (EU) on 1/3, Haniyeh is forced to undergo a stringent security check before being allowed back into Gaza. In addition, the IDF sends undercover units into al-Duha nr. Bethlehem in a vehicle with Palestinian license plates, where they shoot, wound, arrest a wanted Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem. Meanwhile, IDF troops on the Gaza border fire on Palestinian farmers working their land nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya, wounding 4. Suspected Fatah mbrs. ambush an ESF convoy in Bayt Lahiya, killing 1 ESF mbr., wounding 2. Later in the evening, ESF mbrs. surround the Bayt Lahiya home of PSF Col. Muhammad Gharib, who was allegedly involved in the ambush, sparking an exchange of gunfire and RPGs that leaves Gharib, 4 of his guards dead, at least 36 Palestinians wounded (including 8 children). In al-Maghazi and Dayr al-Balah, 5 Palestinians are wounded in clashes btwn. Fatah, Hamas supporters. Hamas releases Fatah mbrs. kidnapped in Bayt Lahiya on 1/3 in a deal brokered by smaller factions. In Gaza City, a Hamas mbr. dies of injuries he received on 1/3 when a bomb he was handling exploded prematurely. In Jenin, unidentified assailants set fire to car of the PA Prison Affairs M. (HA, MM 1/4; MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/5; NYT 1/6; HA 1/7; MM 1/8, 1/9; OCHA 1/10; PCHR 1/11; MM 1/12)